Behind the Tendrils

Curated by Aoife Tunney

1st February- 29th April 29, 2016

Illuminations gallery space is situated amidst the bustling corridors of the English Department at Maynooth University. The building offers another space for exploration, and this uncompromising room forces both the artist and the viewer into a cul-de-sac, a point of resistance, which demands a certain type of inward reflectiveness. Perhaps a chance to look beyond how we perceive moments of history, the language and people attached to these times and the places entwined in historical accounts. Tendril, a thin part of a plant, grows onto other things in order to support the plant itself- supporting its own account of the world. With this exhibition we are delving behind what the tendrils of history have used to support itself.

This programme opens with a photographic exhibition and text work by Dragana Jurisic. YU The Lost Country is a portrait of the countries, which make up what once was Yugoslavia. Jurisic’s work explores her lost homeland, its history and new reality. Her photography manages to convey a sense of displacement, reflecting the artist’s emotional connection as an exile, and of a country’s identity, which has been forced into silence.

Marie Farrington’s work in These Circular Ruins takes as its premise a number of myths and legends entwined within the history of Maynooth University. The film, sculpture and drawing works think through the dichotomous nature of symbols and legends, as well as the impact of literature and language on the construction of history and myth.

 

 

In Deeps Removed Kevin Kirwan uses photography, video and sculpture to study remains and historical sites in Ireland and Europe. He looks at how places are always marked by people. They name places and their presence animates space. People in this way give places a meaning and function. Historically a person or the idea of somebody can give a place meaning by virtue of a simple connection.